Johann Buttigieg defends sanctioning of Portelli’s illegal pools against court decision

Planning Authority Executive Chairman Johann Buttigieg defended the approval of two illegal swimming pools linked to Gozitan mega-developer Joseph Portelli before the Planning Board on Thursday, arguing that the Authority had overcome the legal obstacles identified by the Court of Appeal when it revoked the original permits.

His intervention came moments before the Planning Board voted to legalise the two outside development zone (ODZ) pools forming part of Portelli’s controversial Sannat apartment development, despite a landmark 2024 Court of Appeal judgment declaring the development illegal.

Addressing Board members during the hearing, Buttigieg explained that the court had annulled the original permits because the pools were separated from the apartment block by a public pedestrian footpath and therefore could not be considered part of the development’s curtilage.

He argued that this legal obstacle had since been removed after the Planning Authority approved a planning control application redesignating the footpath as private open space while retaining any existing rights of passage. In the Authority’s view, this meant the pools could now legally be treated as forming part of the residential development and therefore qualified for sanctioning under current planning policy.

The explanation mirrors the position adopted by the Planning Directorate in its case officer’s report, which concluded that the pools now satisfy the Rural Policy and Design Guidance because they are ancillary to a legally established residential development comprising 23 dwellings.

Buttigieg’s intervention effectively defended the Planning Authority’s decision to pursue a fresh sanctioning route rather than enforce the Court of Appeal judgment, which had revoked the original permit in March 2024 after finding that the Authority had misapplied its own planning policies.

Environmental organisations have consistently argued that the Authority’s approach undermines the authority of the courts by changing the planning framework after a final judgment and then using those changes to approve the same development through a new application.

Those concerns were again raised during the latest proceedings.

Din l-Art Ħelwa reminded the Authority that the Court of Appeal had already declared the pools illegal and warned that granting sanctioning permission would undermine that judgment. The Environment and Resources Authority also maintained its objection, describing the proposal as environmentally unacceptable.

Neither objection persuaded the majority of the Government’s Planning Board members, who approved the application.

Portelli and his associates, Mark Agius, known as Ta’ Dirjanu and Daniel Refalo, are known to be donors to the two parties represented in Parliament.